DUSTOFF

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UNARMED HELICOPTER AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION
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Steve Vermillion
Call Sign Dustoff 40
Vietnam Tour Dates Jan 69 to Jan 70
Combat Missions 1451
Combat Hours 1127
Patients Evacd 2410
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Tonights Presentation

• Background on Dustoff
• Night Non-Secure Hoist Mission
• Cockpit Voice Recording of the
• Briefed Hoist Mission

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BACKGROUND
First use of helicopters--Korea--January 1951
OH-13
OH-23
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BACKGROUND

• Restricted to
• those that could not be reached by ground
  ambulance
• travel over rough roads would worsen the
  soldiers condition
• need to reach medical facility faster than by
  ground
• No in flight treatment of the wounded.
• Lessons learned in Korea set the stage for
  Vietnam

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BACKGROUND

• 57th Medical Detachment (HA) deployed to
  Vietnam in 1962
• Equipped with 5 UH-1As
• Located in Nha Trang
• The 57th Med was viewed with skepticism
• Major Kelly era--kicked it up a notch (1964)
• Dustoff call-sign originated in 1964
• Additional air ambulance detachments deployed
  to support
• combat forces.
• The 45th Med Co (AA) arrived in country-Sept
  1967

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DUSTOFFMay 1962-March 1973

• ?900,000 patients evacuated
• 496,473 Dustoff Missions were flown
• Average time between wounding and
  hospitalization--less than one hour.
• Average mission time was 55 minutes
• Standard missions averaged an enemy hit every 311
  trips
• Hoist missions averaged an enemy hit every 44
  trips
• 8000 hoist missions were flown
• Hoist mission considered 7 times more dangerous
  than a standard mission.

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• About 1400 Commissioned / Warrant officers served
  as air ambulance pilots
• 40 aviators were killed by hostile fire
• Another 180 were wounded or injured by hostile
  fire
• 48 were killed and about 200 were injured as a
  result of non-hostile crashes
• Slightly more than 1/3 became casualties.
• 214 aviators and crewmen died flying air
  ambulance helicopters
• Danger factor was 3.3 times higher than any other
  helicopter mission

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HOIST MISSION
HOVERING IS FOR PILOTS WHO LOVE TO FLY BUT HAVE
NO WHERE TO GO
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Difficulties of a Hoist Mission

• Extremely Vulnerable to Enemy Fire

• Hovering Out of Ground Effect

• Center of Gravity Limitations

• Density Altitude

• Crew Coordination

• Illumination

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JUNGLE PENETRATOR
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Critical Aspects of a Hoist Mission
? Highest Risk Point
Cable Cut Switch
When the soldier is suspended on the cable.
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NIGHT HOIST MISSION BRIEF
Anyone can do the job when thing are going
right. In this business we play for keeps.
Ernest
K. Gann
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• Mission
• Night Hoist

FSB Mace

• Location
• YS 559 999

• Wounded
• 2 US Critical
• 2 US Frag

AZ 147 MO 11,800

• ArtilleryXuan Loc

• Enemy Situation
• Unknown

YS 559 999
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RPG-7
1.5 lbs. of C-4 7/32 ball bearings 60 degree
arc--50 meters
RPG--Rocket Propelled Grenade
40 MM Range 500 M (Stationary Target)
M-18 Claymore Mine
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Decision Time !!
No Compromise! No Rationalization! No Hesitation!

• ETAs for gunships
• Company policy
• Command pressure
• True enemy situation

Fly The Mission!
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Pay and AllowancesSeptember 1969
Rank WO1 Basic Pay 378.90 Flight
Pay 100.00 Hazard Pay
65.00 Subsistence 47.00 Total
Monthly Salary 591.78 Annual Salary
7,101.36
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Enemy
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